Historical Commission Agenda and Packet 2016 07 06

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Page 4 of 150 Before the current planning process began,the 2004 Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) Report first identified issues and goals for the Museum.l The City has implemented many of that Report's recommendations, including the installation of a fire protection system and a security system.The Report also recommended that the City construct a "new, purpose-built facility on site" in the location between the Jacoe Store and Tomeo House in order to create a "viable collections center" with "excellent exhibit spaces and rooms for offices and programs." The process to develop this Master Plan document came out of the 2013 City Comprehensive Plan, which included the following principle: "City policies should encourage a livable community with a strong sense of history." Under this Comprehensive Plan principle was the policy that the City should adopt a "Historical Museum Campus Master Plan." Next,the City arranged to have museum experts conduct a needs assessment of the Museum activities and campus. Following a request for proposals,and with financial support from the Louisville History Foundation,the City engaged Metcalfe Architecture& Design ("Metcalfe")to conduct a needs assessment and issue a report for the Museum. Metcalfe representatives visited the site and obtained input from the public and stakeholders at public sessions,and finalized its report in December 2014.The Needs Assessment Report expanded on the CAP Report by proposing a new Visitor Center building,to be called "the Community House,"that will address many of the Museum's current limitations and will allow the Museum to provide ADA access, and more effectively preserve and exhibit the collections and serve tourists and the community. Metcalfe advised the City that the final Master Plan document should consist of its own Needs Assessment Report, plus an Interpretive Plan to be written by the Museum Coordinator and a Business Plan for the City to commission from a consultant who focuses on museum business plans. Following another request for proposals,the City engaged ArtsMarket, Inc.to prepare the Museum Business Plan.ArtsMarket visited in December 2015 and met with groups of stakeholders in a number of meetings.ArtsMarket's Business Plan is dated February 2016. The Louisville Historical Commission has been very involved in the creation and evolution of this Master Plan.The Commission has regularly discussed both the overall direction and the specifics of the Master Plan at Commission meetings since 2014, and individual Commission members were able to meet with the consultants during their site visits.The Commission reviewed and discussed a draft of the Interpretive Plan at its meeting on Sept.2,2015,and The Museum Coordinator also sought and received input for the Interpretive Plan from a Commission subcommittee that met for this purpose. Commission edits and suggestions from these meetings were incorporated into the Interpretive Plan. The Louisville History Foundation, as a private nonprofit 501c3, is not a part of the City administration and its directors do not act in an official advisory capacity to the City. However,City staff has kept the Foundation board of directors informed throughout the Master Plan process,and sought and incorporated input from its directors at key points throughout the process. i As noted in the Executive Summary, museum experts assessed the Museum and wrote the Report pursuant to a grant to the City from the Institute of Library and Museum Services.